Heel attaching machines



1952 A. s. DOROSZ EI'AL 3,048,862

HEEL ATTACHING MACHINES Original Filed May 12, 1960 '7 Sheets-Sheet 1 m9 g gm 24 202 E 52 /5 Inven furs lea F Stanzon Adolph S. Dorosz By Zheir Azzor'ney Aug. 14, 1962 A. s. DoRosz ETAL HEEL ATTACHING MACHINES Original Filed May 12, 1960 '7 Sheets-Sheet 2 Aug. 14, 1962 A. s. DOROSZ ETAL HEEL ATTACHING MACHINES Original Filed May 12, 1960 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 Aug. 14, 1962 A. s. DOROSZ ETAL HEEL 'ATTACHING MACHINES '7 Sheets-Sheet 4 Aug. 14, 1962 A. s. DOROSZ ETAL HEEL ATTACHING MACHINES Original Filed May 12, 1960 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 m-235 ZM #96 Aug. 14, 1962 A. s. DOROSZ ETAL HEEL ATTACHING MACHINES Original Filed May 12, 1960 '7 Sheets-Sheet 6 II III Aug. 14, 1 62 A. s. DoRosz ETAL 3,048,862

HEEL ATTACHING MACHINES Original Filed May 12, 1960 '7 Sheets-Sheet 7 United States This invention relates to heel attaching machines such as disclosed in an application for United States Letters Patent Serial No. 110,298, filed May 8, 1961, in the names of Paul E. Morgan and Willard L. Baker, and more specifically to a modified jack for adapting said machine automatically to receive shoes from a transfer device and after the attachment of heels to said shoes automatically to deliver the shoes with their heels attached to a position in which they are removed from the jack by said device. This application is a continuation of our United States application Serial No. 28,801, filed May 12, 1960 (now abandoned).

The transfer device, which forms the subject-matter of United States Letters Patent No. 3,024,480, granted March 13, 1962, on an application filed in the names of Willard L. Baker et al., is described with reference to shoes carried by geometric lasts secured to pallets which are handled by said transfer device and are automatically received from and returned to a rack which may be moved around the factory from one machine to another.

As explained in United States Letters Patent No. 2,881,- 440, granted April 14, 1959, on an application filed in the names of Vernon H. Meyer et al., in presenting right and left shoes mounted on geometriclasts to heel attaching machines, the longitudinal center lines of the foreparts of the right and left lasts are arranged at opposite sides of and are inclined at equal angles to the common vertical median plane of the heel seats of right and left lasts and accordingly of the heel seats of the right and left shoes on said lasts. Shoes built on right and left lasts are commonly positioned in heel attaching machines with the vertical median plane of their heel seats arranged in a fixed vertical reference plane of the jack which plane is also the vertical median plane of the operating instrumentalities of the machine. In the rack and the transfer device disclosed in Patent No. 3,024,480- the center lines of foreparts of right and left lasts, which carry the shoes and are secured to the pallets, are arranged in parallel relation.

The right and left lasts illustrated herein have secured to the upper faces of their back cones positioning plates such as disclosed in United State Letters Patent No. 2,806,233, granted September 17, 1957, on an application filed in the names of Arthur R. Hubbard et al. In the rack and transfer mechanism illustrated in Patent No. 3,024,480 right and left lasts are mounted on pallets of identical construction, the center lines of the foreparts of these last bearing a fixed relation to the pallets, the center lines of the foreparts of the lasts mounted on the pallets on the rack being parallel to the axis of rotation of the rack.

It is an object of the present invention to provide the machine disclosed in application Serial No. 110,298 with a simple jack which is adapted quickly and effectively toreceive from and deliver back to the transfer device illustrated in Patent No. 3,024,480, pallet having secured to them right and left lasts carrying shoes and which is adapted to position said right and left shoes on the jack so that the shoes shall be properly positioned automatically for the reception of heels.

In the illustrative construction the right and left lasts are secured in a fixed relation to the pallets each of which atent is provided with a spindle adapted to be received in a bore of the jack. Each of the pallets is also provided with a coupling block which is gripped by an arm of the transfer device whereby to secure the pallet in a predetermined position to said arm preparatory to transferring the associated pallet, last and shoe as a unit between the rack and the jack which is in an initially fixed work receiving position. The transfer device is adapted to place the pallet on the jack with the spindle of the pallet in the bore of the jack, said spindle entering the bore of the jack until a face of a tiltable block of the pallet and a face of the positioning plate of the last simultaneously engage respectively vertically spaced horizontal jack faces which are also offset horizontally. The arm of the transfer device at this time is fully disconnected from the coupling block of the pallet, the center line of the forepart of the last irrespective of whether it is a right or left lying in a vertical reference plane of the jack and the operating instrumentalities of the machine.

As explained in the above-mentioned Patent 2,806,233, the positioning plate of the geometrically graded last is provided with front and rear pairs of parallel side faces or shoulders which pairs are arranged respectively equaldistances from the center line of the forepart of the last and the vertical median plane of the heel seat of the last. The jack has mounted on it a pair of fingers which are adapted to move engagingly along the opposite side faces of the positioning plate, said fingers being shaped and arranged to be engaged or substantially so by the front pair of faces as the pallet, last and shoe unit are delivered to the jack by the transfer arm and accordingly, until the fingers are moved, the unit will remain in the position it has been delivered to the jack, that is, with the center line of the forepart of the shoe in the fixed vertical median plane of the jack.

In order to move on the jack the vertical median plane of the heel seat of the right or left last, which is secured to the pallet, and accordingly of the heel seat of the shoe mounted on the last into a position coincident with the fixed reference plane of the machine, there is provided, in accordance with a feature of the invention and in re sponse to the closing of a switch operated by the arm of the transfer device, means for swinging the fingers from their engagement with the front pair of faces of the positioning plate to the rear pair of faces of said plate whereby to swing the pallet about the axis of its spindle post in the bore of the jack into a position in which the vertical median plane of the heel seats of right and left shoes on the last secured to the pallet line in the fixed vertical reference plane of the machine. As the pallet is swung about the axis of its spindle the orienting fingers are wedge clamped against the rear pair of faces of the positioning plate of the last, and mechanism for operat-' ing the fingers also actuates, in accordance with another feature of the invention, an abutment member which has the form of a thrust link and is adapted to be forced against the spindle of the pallet to force said spindle against inserts extending into a lateral half of the bore of the jack whereby to assist in positioning the axis of the spindle pallet in a definite position on the jack.

During the heel attaching operation of the machine the jack is moved in a vertical path to force the heel seat of the shoe against a heel which has been automatically moved by a carrier unit to a predetermined position above the heel seat of the shoe and to force the heel against a nailing die preparatory to driving nails into the heel and the heel seat of the shoe as described in application Serial No. 110,298. During the heel attaching operation the mechanism for operating the fingers and the abutment member serves to hold the shoe oriented on the jack against displacement.

As the jack is lowered to its retracted starting posi tion after the heel attaching operation the finger actuating mechanism is operated to move the abutment member away from the spindle f the pallet and to swing the fingers into engagement with the front pair of edge faces of the positioning plate of the last whereby to swing the pallet, the last and shoe unit into a position in which the center line of the forepart of the last lies in a fixed reference plane of the machine. The arm of the transfer mechanism during upward travel thereof in response to the completion of the cycle of operation of the heel attaching machine interlocks with the coupling of the pallet to lift the pallet and accordingly the last and the shoe mounted on it from the jack preparatory to delivering the work back to the rack and also delivering the pallet with the next piece of work to be operated upon onto the jack.

The present invention consists in the foregoing features and in novel features hereinafter described, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate one embodiment of the invention, selected for purposes of illustration, said invention being fully disclosed in the following description and claims.

In the drawings,

FIG. 1 is a side view, partly broken away and partly in section, showing a portion of the illustrative heel attaching inachine in the process of attaching a heel to a shoe which is on a right last secured to a pallet, and showing an end portion of an arm of a transfer device which is disclosed in Patent No. 3,024,480 and automatically delivers to and removes from a jack pallets having the work mounted on them;

FIG. 2 is a view showing in detail the jack of the ma chine illustrated in FIG. 1 when the machine is idle and also showing the arm of the transfer device about to place the pallet, which has secured to it a last carrying a shoe, onto said jack;

FIG. 3 shows, partly broken away, the jack and operating mechanism therefor in front elevation;

FIG. 4 is a view on the line IVIV of FIG. 1, parts of a pallet and a post of the jack being omitted, and the back cone of the last being indicated in phantom, the last and a positioning plate secured to and forming part of the last being positioned upon and clamped to a post of the jack by the use of orienting fingers which are journaled on said post;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 but showing the orienting fingers in the positions they occupy just after the pallet and the work mounted on it have been placed on the post of the jack;

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 4 but showing mounted on the jack post a left last instead of a right last;

FIG. 7 shows in perspective the post of the jack in a raised operating or heel attaching position with work mounted thereon;

FIG. 8 is an exploded view, partly broken away, showing in perspective the pallet and a last which carries a shoe and is about to be placed on said pallet;

FIG. 9 is a section on the line IXIX of FIG. 11 showing the coupling arrangement between one of the pallets and an end portion of an arm of the transfer device, said arm being shown in its clamped relation with the pallet;

FIG. 10 is a view showing the bottoms of right and left lasts superimposed on each other and illustrating the fact that the heel end portions of said lasts in their operating positions are substantially coincident and that the toe ends of said lasts are laterally offset from each other;

FIG. 11 is a section on line XI-XI of FIG. 1 showing the arm of the transfer device just after it has released the pallet after placing the pallet on the jack post;

51G. 12 is a section on the line XIIXII of FIG. 1; an

FIGS. 13 and 14 are schematic views of the fluid pressure operated mechanism of the machine The illustrative machine for the most part is identical to the heel attaching machine disclosed in application Serial No. 110,298 and comprises a jack 20 adapted automatically to receive successively from an arm 22 of a transfer device 2 4 pallets 26 having secured to them lasts 28 which carry shoes 30, said pallets after composite heels 32 (FIG. 1), each comprising a rubber lift 32a and a base lift 3212, have been attached to said shoes by the use of the machine being removed by said arm of the transfer device from the jack for delivery back to a shoe rack (not shown). The pallet 26 is described in detail in United States Letters Patent No. 3,024,479, granted March 13, 1962, on an application filed in the names of Willard L. Baker and Thomas W. Snow, and the transfer device as well as the rack for use with this device are disclosed in detail in the above-mentioned Patent No. 3,024,480.

The pallets 26 have right or left lasts 28 secured to them and are automatically placed on or delivered in a predetermined position to a post 29 of the jack 20 and are thereafter moved to and lock in predetermined operating or heel attaching positions on the jack in accordance with whether they are rights or lefts preparatory to attaching the heel 32 to the shoe 30. The pallet 26 comprises a carrier portion 34 made of two pieces welded together and having formed in it alined bearing bores for receiving trunnion screws 38 (FIGS. 1 and 2) threaded into alined recesses 37 of a block 40 having secured to it a last receiving spindle 42 and a pallet positioning spindle 44.

The last 28 is of the geometrically gnaded type disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 1,948,547, granted February 27, 1934, on an application filed in the name of Laurence E. Topham, and comprises a thimble 46 having an axis 48 and a heel seat 50 (FIG. 10) formed by a heel seat plate 52 against which heel attaching nails (not shown) are clenched. Lasts 28 of different sizes have the rear ends of their heel seats 50 spaced different distances respectively from the axes 48 of the thimbles 46 of the lasts. Firmly secured to the upper face of the hack cone of the last 28 is a positioning plate 54 which, as will be hereinafter explained, is used to position the last upon the post 29 of the jack 20, said plate having formed in it a hole 56 which registers with the upper end of the thimble 46 of the last. The positioning plate 44 may be considered part of the last and is disclosed in detail in Patent No. 2,806,233 already mentioned.

As explained in Patent 2,806,233, right and left geometric lasts 28 have the center lines 58 of their foreparts, which center lines extend between the tip of the toe end of the bottom of the last and the axis 48 of the thimble 46, at equal angles alpha (about 6) at opposite sides of a vertical median plane 60 of the heel seat 50 of the last which plane includes a line extending from the rear end of the heel seat 50 of the last to the axis of the thimble, this line extended forwardly intersecting the forward points of intersection of the bottoms of the right and left lasts. The positioning plates 54 of the right and left lasts 28 have front and rear pairs of parallel planar shoulders or faces '62, '64 respectively, these plates being so located on the upper faces of the back cones of the lasts that the front shoulders 62 are parallel to and are spaced equal distances from the center lines 58 of the foreparts of the lasts and the rear shoulders 64 are parallel to and spaced equal distances from the vertical median plane 60 of the heel seat 50 of the last. It will be noted that the heel seats 50 of the right and left lasts 28 are substantially coincident while the toe ends of the lasts swing laterally away from each other as shown in FIG. 10. The positrolling plate 54 of the last 28 has at its rear end a lip 66 Or 1n some cases a notch (not shown) the purpose of which will appear presently.

The carrier portion 34 of the pallet 26 has formed integral with it a detent flange 68, which is adapted to override the lip 66 of the positioning plate of the last mounted on the spindle 42, and a bracing lug 70, a leaf spring 72 being riveted to said carrier portion 34 of the pallet and overlying said lug. A free end of the leaf spring 72 has formed in it a notch 74 an outer portion of which has converging sides and an inner portion of which has parallel sides. The distance between the parallel sides of the notch 7 4 is substantially equal to the width of the front end of the positioning plate 54. When there is no last 28 on the pallet 26 the free end of the leaf spring 72 is in its raised position shown in FIG. 8, away from the bracing lug 70.

The last 28 carrying the shoe 30 is secured to the pallet 26 by placing the thimble 46 on the spindle 42 and then tilting the last and the spindle slightly clockwise as viewed in FIG. 8 with the forward end of the positioning plate 54 of the last engaging the bottom of the notch 74. While maintaining the spindle 42 of the pallet at this angle the last is moved toward the pallet 26 against the action of the spring plate 72 until the positioning plate engages the block 4t? of the pallet. The shoe 3t) and the last 28 together with the spindle 42 are then swung counterclockwise as viewed in FIG. 8 about the common axis of the trunnion screws 38 causing the lip 66 of the positioning plate 54 to be positioned beneath the detent flange 68 of the pallet and the rear face of said positioning plate to engage said flange, the leaf spring acting against the upper face of the back cone of the last to maintain said rear face of the positioning plate of the last against the detent flange of the pallet.

Since the forward end of the positioning plate 54 of the last 28 fits in the inner parallel sided portion of the notch 74- it will be clear that the center line 58 of the forepart of the last lies'in a common or central heightwise plane of the pallet irrespective of whether the last is a right or a left. It will thus be clear that the same pallet 26 may be used to accommodate right or left lasts. By positioning lasts 28 carrying shoes 30 with the center lines 58 of the lasts in parallel relation it is possible to arrange the shoes in a minimum amount of space on the rack. Moreover, this arrangement makes it possible to position the pallets 26 and accordingly the lasts 23 carrying shoes 30 automatically in desired positions in transfer devices and in machines, which operate upon the shoes, irrespective of whether the shoes are rights or lefts, by the use of mechanism which is of relatively simple construction. 7

The carrier portion 34 of the pallet 26 has secured to it by screws 76 a coupling block 78 having at one of its sides a uniformly deep vertical slot as of a V-shaped cross section and having at the upper half of its other side a recess 82 comprising an inwardly tapering portion and a central flat bottom portion which has lateral shoulders at its upper end.

The post 29 of the jack 20 has formed in it a vertical bore 84 which is adapted to receive the spindle 44 of the pallet 26 and terminates in a horizontal face 86 forming with a substantially vertical face 88 of the jack post a rabbet adapted to receive the block 40 of the pallet 26. The post 29 of the jack 2!} is also provided with a horizontal face 90 adapted to be engaged by the forward half of the positioning plate 54 of the last 28 secured to the pallet 26, the horizontal faces of the jack post jointly serving to support the work delivered to the machine.

Each of two ends (only one end shown) of the arm 22 of the transfer device 24 has welded to it a block 91 having secured to it by pins a vertical plate 92 an exposed rounded end of which is adapted to be received by the vertical slot 80 of the coupling block 78 of one of the pallets 26 mounted on the rack (not shown) as disclosed in Patent No. 3,024,480, the vertical plate 92 at the opposite end of the arm 22 at this time, as shown in FIG. 11, being adapted to be received by the vertical slot 80 of the coupling block 78 of the pallet which is about to be removed from the post 29 of the jack 20.

Iournaled on the arm 22 at each of its ends is an L-shaped clamp lever 94 having a wedge face 96 complemental to and adapted to fit in the inwardly tapering portion of the recess 82 of the associated coupling block 78 and carrying a roller 98 which is adapted to roll along the recess 82 formed in the associated coupling block as the coupling portion of the arm releases and picks up the pallet. Each of the L-shaped clamp levers 94 has formed at the lower portion of its outer end a wedgeshaped sustaining lip 100 which when the inwardly tapering portion of the recess 82 of the coupling block is engaged by the wedge faces 96 of the clamp lever 94 is in engagement with an angled face 102 of the pallet 26, the various interengaging portions of the clamp and the coupling portion of the pallet being adapted to secure the pallet to the arm 22 in a predetermined position while it is being transferred between the rack (not shown) and the jack 20 and later while it is being moved from the jack back to the rack.

The L-shaped clamp lever 94 is coupled to the block 78 of the pallet 26 by mechanism actuated by a spring 104 and is cam opened against the action of this spring as the pallet is placed upon the post 29 of the jack 20, the construction and arrangement being such that the transfer arm 22 as it is lowered, after having swung the pallet 26 and the last 28 mounted on it through 180 to a position in front of the jack post, moves the spindle '44 of the pallet 26 into the vertical bore 84 of the post and the block 40 of the pallet into engagement with the rabbet formed by the faces 86, 88 of said post. .While the pallet 26 is being placed on the jack post 29 the L-shaped clamp lever 94 on the arm 22 of the transfer device 24 is swung on said arm away from the coupling block 78 of the pallet by the action of a cam (not shown) operating against the spring 104 with the result that the pallet is released from the arm which continues to move to a lowered rest position (shown in full lines FIG. 1) in front of the jack 20.

At the time that the pallet 26 is lowered onto the post 29 of the jack 20 orienting fingers 106, which are journaled on a bearing pin 108 fixed to the jack post, have been swung forward to their pallet receiving and delivering positions shown in FIGS. 2 and 5. As above stated, right and left lasts 28 secured to pallets 26, which are on the rack (not shown) loaded onto the transfer device 24; as disclosed in Patent No. 3,024,480, have the center lines 58 of their foreparts arranged in parallel relation, said center lines at the time the work is placed on the jack post 29 being arranged in a fixed reference plane 110' of the machine which is also the longitudinal vertical median plane of the jack and of the operating instrumentalities of the machine. The orienting fingers 106 have centralizing faces 112 which lie in vertical planes and are equidistant from the fixed reference plane 110 of the jack and also have leading or bevel faces 114 which when the fingers are in their rearward position shown in FIG. 1 are verti cally disposed and converge as they extend forwardly toward the fixed reference plane 110. It will be noted that when the last orienting fingers 106 have been swung forward to their pallet receiving and delivering positions shown in FIGS. 2 and 5 their bevel faces 114 are so disposed that should they be engaged by the forward corners of the positioning plate 54 of the last 28, as the pallet 26 is placed on the jack post 29 and is released by the transfer arm 22, they will guide the work to a position in which the positioning plate of the last is arranged as shown in FIG. 5, that is, the faces 62 of the positioning plate will be in substantial alinement with the faces 112 respectively of the fingers 106 and accordingly the center lines 58 of the foreparts of the lasts 28 mounted on the post 29 of the jack 20 will lie in the fixed reference plane 110 of the machine irrespective of whether the last is a right or a left.

As above explained, the cam faces 112 of the centralizing fingers 106 of the jack 20 are arranged equidistant from the reference plane 110 of the machine and as said fingers are swung rearward they first engage the front pair of faces 62 and then the rear pair of faces 64 of the positioning plate 54 causing the last 28 and accordingly the associated shoe 30 and pallet 26 to be moved about an axis 440 of the spindle 44 of the pallet then arranged in a predetermined position on the jack post 29, as will be hereinafter explained, to a position in which the vertical median plane 60 of the heel seat 50 of the last lies in the fixed vertical reference plane. The post 29 of the jack 20 has secured to it a pair of lateral lugs 116 having cam faces 117 adapted to be engaged by faces 118 of the orienting fingers 106 as said fingers approach their vertical rearward position thus causing the centralizing faces 112 of the fingers to be clamped firmly against the rear pair of shoulders 64 of the positioning plate thereby to hold the last firmly against rotation on the jack post 29.

The jack 20 comprises the post 29' which has at its lower end a cylindrical shank 120 mounted for vertical reciprocation in a bore 122 of a piston rod 124 movable vertically in a bearing post 126 welded to a sustaining plate 128 supported upon a platform 130 bolted to an upright column 132 of the machine. The piston rod 124 has driven into it a pin 134 which passes through a slot 136 formed in the shank 120 of the jack post 29, said post when the machine is idle being held in a raised position on the piston rod by Belleville spring washers 138 which are interposed between a shoulder of the post and the upper end of the piston rod and are disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 65,790, granted June 18, 1867, on an application filed in the name of Julien F. Belleville. Upward movement of the jack post 29 with relation to the piston rod 124 is limited by the engagement of the lower end of the slot 136 formed in the post with the pin 1.34 carried by the rod.

The sustaining plate 128 is slidable forwardly and rearwardly of the machine along a guideway 140 formed by bads 142 which are secured by screws 144 to the platform 130. The sustaining plate 128 may be clamped to the platform 130 in its adjusted position along the guideway 140 by clamps 146 which are forced against the plate by bars 142 which are secured by screws 144 to the platand are threaded into the platform 130. After releasing the clamp screws 148 the sustaining plate 128 may be initially adjusted lengthwise of the guideway 140 by the use of a hand screw 152 which is journaled in a lug 153 secured to the plat-form and is threaded into the sustaining plate.

The bearing post 126 has welded to it a collar 154 secured by screws 156 to an upper head 158 of a cylin drical housing 160, said upper head, a casing 162 and a lower head 164 of said housing being held together by headers 166 and nuts 168 threaded onto said headers. Securied by a nut 169' to the lower end of the rod 124 is a piston 170 which is raised and lowered by fluid pressure means such for example as air as disclosed in detail in application Serial No. 110,298.

The orienting fingers 106 form parts of a U-shaped bell crank lever 172 which is journaled on the bearing pin 108 secured to the post 29 of the jack 20. The bell crank lever 172 is pivotally connected through a pin 174 to a link 176 the lower end of which is pivotally connected by a pin 178 to the upper end portion of a link 18!). The bearing pin 178 has mounted on it a thrust link 182 which extends into a vertical slit 184 formed in the jack post 29 and has secured to it a slide rod 186 opposite end portions of which fit slidingly in a slot 188 in said post.

. Threaded into and welded to the jack post 29 are upper and lower pairs of abutments 190 which are arranged equal distances at opposite sides of the fixed reference plane 110 of the jack and of the operating instrumentalities of the machine and have planar inner end faces 192 (FIG. 11) thereof inclined to each other to form in effect upper and lower wedge faces which may be described as arranged in the form of VS and against which the spindle 44 of the pallet 26 may be forced by the rear end of the thrust link 182. It will be noted at this time that the diameter of the spindle 44 is somewhat less than that of the bore 84 of the jack post 29 in order to insure that the pallet 26 shall drop freely into the desired position onto the jack post as it is delivered to and released by the transfer arm 22. It is of course desirable to establish that the axis 44a of the spindle 44 shall be arranged in a predetermined fixed position while the pallet is being oriented to its operating position on the jack 20 and accordingly the pallet spindle 44 in the bore 84 of the jack post 29 is forced by said thrust link 182 into this position which is determined by the positions of the faces 192 of the abutments 190.

Th lower end of the link is pivotally connected to a U-shaped bell crank lever 194 journaled on a bearing pin 196 secured to the jack post 729 and having rear arms pivotally connected to a link 198 having mounted on it a pin 200 which extends through slots 202 formed in bifurcations of a bracket extension 204 of the jack post and has rotatably mounted on it a pair of rollers 206.

The rollers 206 carried by the pin 200 fit respectively in recesses 208 formed in upstanding bifurcations of a slide 210 which is reciprocable along a guideway 212 formed partly by the main frame and partly by bars 214 secured by screws 216 to a bracket 217 of the main frame. The slide 210 carries a pin 218 and mounted on said pin between the bifurcations of the slide 210 is a block 220 formed integral with a rod 222 having secured to it a piston 224 slidable in a bore 226 of a cylindrical housing 228 secured by a nut 230 to a lug welded to a bracket bolted to the column 132. Forward movement of the slide 210 is limited by the engagement of the block 220' with a face 232 of a guide bracket 236 secured by screws 238 to the column 132, the upper rear ends of the recesses 208 which are formed in the slide at this time being in vertical alinement with a face 234 of the guide bracket. The rear end of the bracket extension 204 of the jack post 29 fits slidingly in a vertical groove 235 formed in the guide bracket 236, this construction insuring against any rotation of the jack post upon the piston rod 124.

When the machine is at rest the block 220 carried by the slide 210 is spaced from the stop face 232 of the bracket 236 and the fingers 106 are in their forward position as shown in FIGS. 2 and 5 the faces 114 (FIG. 5) of said fingers being arranged to assist in guiding, if necessary, the rear end of the positioning plate 54 of the last 28, as the pallet 26 to which the last is secured is delivered from the arm 22 of the transfer device 24 to the jack post 29, with the center line 58 of the forepart of the last included in the fixed reference plane 110 of the machine.

After the pallet 26 has been delivered to the jack post 29 the slide 210 is moved forwardly from its position shown in FIG. 2 in response to the forward travel of the piston 224 causing a toggle, which comprises the link 176 and the thrust link 182, to start to straighten with the result that the thrust link forces the spindle 44 of the pallet on the jack post against the faces 192 of the abutment-s and swings the orienting fingers 106 rearwardly along the forward pair of shoulders 62 of the positioning plate 54 of the last 28. At this point continued movement of the slide 210 causes the orienting fingers 106 to move rearward with camming action along the positioning plate 54 the fingers at this time engaging the shoulders 64 of said plate whereby to move on the jack post 29 the last 28 together with the pallet 26 and the shoe 30 mounted on the last about the axis 44a of the spindle 44 until the vertical median plane 60 of the heel seat 50 of the last 28 lies in the fixed median plane 110 of the machine. During the final closing action of the toggle the faces 118 of the orienting fingers 106 are forced against the cam faces 117 of the lugs 116 on the jack post 29 with the result that the faces 112 of the fingers are forced with substantial pressure against the shoulders 64 of the positioning plate and the thrust link 182 is forced with heavy pressure against the spindle 44 of the pallet 26 whereby to force said spindle firmly against the faces 192 of the abutments 190 of the jack post.

When the block 220 has been moved forward into engagement with the face 232 of the guide bracket 236 the orienting fingers 106 have effectively clamped the positioning plate 54 of the last 28 in its operating or heel attaching position on the jack post 29, in which position the vertical median plane 60 of the heel seat of the last lies in the fixed reference plane 110 of the machine. It will be noted that the U-shaped bell crank lever 194 is of such a construction that it can be flexed slightly so that the faces 112 of the orienting fingers 106 can be firmly clamped against the shoulders 64 of the positioning plate 54 of the last 28 slightly before the block 220 engages the face 232 of the guide bracket 236.

After the work has been oriented on and secured to the jack post 29, as above described, the post is raised in response to upward movement of the piston rod 126 motivated by air under heavy pressure supplied from a line 240 to a chamber 242 formed by the cylindrical housing 160 and a face 244 of the piston 170, a chamber 246 formed by the cylindrical housing and a face 248 of the piston at this time being open to exhaust through a line 250. As the jack post 29 is raised it forces the heel seat of the shoe 30 against the base lift 32b of the composite heel 32 which is in a predetermined waiting position in a heel and base lift carrier or carrier unit 254 and also forces the rubber lift 32a of the composite heel against nail tubes 256 which collectively form a nailing die 257. The nailing die 257 and carrier unit 254 are described in detail in application Serial No. 110,298.

When the work mounted on the jack 20 has been effectively clamped against the nail tubes 256, drivers 258 operate with impact action in passages 260 of the nail tubes 256 to drive nails (not shown) automatically supplied to said tubes into the composite heel and the heel seat of the shoe, said nails being clenched against the heel plate 50 of the last 28. The nail driving and heel orienting and delivering means of the present machine is identical with that described in application Serial No. 110,298 and need not be further described herein. As explained in application Serial No. 110,298 during the nail driving operation the Belleville washers permit the jack post 29 and accordingly the work to yield with relation to the piston rod 124, said jack post vibrating vertically to a slight extent as the heel attaching nails are being driven.

It will be noted that when the jack post 20 has been moved away from its lowered or retracted position shown in FIG. 2 the rollers 206 on the pin 200 mounted on the link 198 remain in engagement with the face 234 of the guide bracket 236 and hold the orienting fingers 106 clamped against the shoulders 64 of the positioning plate 54 of the last 28 and also hold the spindle 44 of the pallet 26 forced against the faces 192 of the 'abutments 190 When the composite heel 32 has been attached to the shoe 30 the jack 20 is moved to its lowered or retracted position by causing high pressure air to be supplied to the chamber 246 and opening the chamber 242 to exhaust, downward movement of the piston rod 124 and accord ingly the jack being limited by the engagement of the lower end of the piston rod 124, with the lower header 164. As the jack post 20 reaches its lower position the rollers 206 mounted on the pin 200 carried by the link 198 return to their idle positions in the vertical recesses 208 of the slide 210. High pressure air and air under exhaust pressure is made available for faces 262, 264 respectively of the piston 224 causing the fingers 106 to return to their operative positions shown in FIG. 2.

The illustrative machine which as above stated is substantially identical to the machine disclosed in application Serial No. 110,298 comprises an actuating valve 266 which corresponds to the manually operated valve (526) of the machine disclosed in said application, the schematic diagram shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, except as hereinafter pointed out, being identical to the corresponding schematic diagram shown in FIGS. 16 and 17 of said application. The actuating valve 266 is provided with a spool 268 which is normally held in its raised position (FIG. 13) in the valve by a spring 270. Secured to the spool 268 is a rod 272 which forms part of a solenoid 274 comprising a coil 276 included in a circuit 278 which also includes an impulse switch 280 (FIG. 1) having a plunger 282. When the arm 22 of the transfer device 24 is lowered after delivering the work to the jack 20 of the machine, it engages the plunger 282 of the switch 280 and normally energizes the coil 276 of the solenoid 274 with the result that the spool 268 of the actuating valve 266 is moved to its dash-line position (FIG. 13) against the action of the spring 270 causing high pressure air in a supply line 284 to be available for a face 286 of a spool 288 of a main pilot valve 290, corresponding to the main pilot valve (532) in application Serial No. 110,298, with the result that the spool is moved to its dash-line position (FIG. 13) to cause the machine to operate through its cycle. As soon as the impulse switch 280 has operated to move the plunger 288 of the main pilot valve 290 to its dash-line position, the coil 276 of the solenoid 274 is deenergized with the result that the plunger 268 of the actuating valve 266 is moved back to its idle position by the action of the spring 270.

When high pressure air is available for a line 292 corresponding to the line (626) in said application Serial No. 110,298 high pressure air is admitted to a chamber 294 formed by the cylindrical housing 228 and the face 264 of the piston 224, and a chamber 296 formed by said housing and the face 262 of the piston is open to an exhaust port 298. Accordingly the piston 224 will travel forward, that is, to the right as shown in FIG. 2 until the front face of the block 220 engages the face 232 of the guide bracket 236. When high pressure air is available for the line 292 it will also be available through a pressure regulator 300, a sequence valve 302 and a line 304 for the chamber 242 of the cylindrical housing and accordingly the face 244 of the piston 170, the face 248 of the piston at the time being open to the exhaust port 298. The sequence valve 302 is so chosen that when the piston 224 has moved to the forward end of its stroke and accordingly the pallet with the work on it has been clamped on the jack 20 the piston will be raised to force the heel seat of the shoe against the heel 32 and the heel against the bottoms of the nail tubes 256 preparato'ry to driving nails to attach the heel to the shoe.

As disclosed in application Serial No. 110,298, after the attachment of the heel to the shoe the spool 288 of the main pilot valve 290 is moved back to its full-line position by reason of high pressure air being available for a face 306 of this spool, the face 286 of the spool being open to exhaust. Accordingly high pressure air is available for the face 248 of the piston 170 and the face 244 of this piston is open to an exhaust port 308 with the result that the jack moves to its lowered rest position. After the jack 20 has reached its lowered idle position the face 262 of the piston 224 is open through line 310, a sequence valve 312 and a line 314 to high pressure air and the face 264 of the piston is open to the exhaust port 308 with the result that the piston moves rearward to its starting position and the orienting fingers 106 move to their starting positions shown in FIG. 2.

The line 314 has operatively connected to it a pressure responsive switch 316 which is disclosed in Patent No. 3,024,480 and is identified as PS9 in FIG. 26 of that application and which when pressure builds up in the chamber 296, formed by the cylindrical housing 228 and the face 262 of the piston 224, will close thereby causing the transfer arm 22 to be raised from its position shown 1 l in FIG. 1 to pick up the work from the jack 20 preparatory to transferring it back to the shoe rack (not shown).

Mounted on the frame of the illustrative machine are a pair of switches (not shown) which are disclosed in Patent No. 3,024,480 and are identified as S6 and S7 in FIGS. 1 and 26 of that application and one or the other of which is adapted to be closed by the work, which is mounted on the arm 22, as it swings toward the jack 20. As explained in Patent No. 3,024,480, when there is no work on the arm 22 of the transfer device 24 as it swings forward toward the jack 29 neither one of these switches is closed and accordingly the line 27% cannot be established even though the switch 280 is closed. Accordingly the heel attaching machine comes to rest at the end of the cycle. The transfer-device 24 also comes to rest at the end of its cycle when neither of the switches (S6) (S7) is closed as disclosed in detail in Patent No. 3,024,480.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a machine for operating upon shoes, operating instrumentalities, a jack adapted to receive identical pallets each carrying a right or a left shoe, each shoe irrespective of whether it is a right or a left being secured to its pallet with one end portion of the shoe in the same fixed angular relation to the pallet, and means on the jack for rotating each pallet upon the jack to position, irrespective of whether it is a right or a left, the other end portion of the shoe to be operated upon in a predetermined angular relation to the operating instrumentalities of the machine.

2. In a machine for operating upon shoes, operating instrumentalities, a jack adapted to receive identical pallets each carrying a right or a left shoe, each shoe irrespective of whether it is a right or a left being secured to its pallet with one end portion of the shoe in the same fixed angular relation to the pallet, means on the jack for rotating each pallet upon the jack to position, irrespective of whether the shoe is a right or a left, the other end portion of the shoe to be operated upon in a predetermined angular relation to the operating instrumentalities of the machine, and means for delivering pallets to and removing them from the jack.

3. In a machine for use in the manufacture of shoes and having operating instrumentalities, a jack adapted to receive pallets which are identical and are adapted to carry either right or left shoes, each shoe irrespective of whether it is a right or a left being secured to its associated pallet with a center line of a forepart of the shoe in the same fixed relation to the pallet, means for rotating each pallet on the jack to locate a vertical median plane of the heel seat of the shoe, irrespective of whether the shoe is a right or a left in the same fixed relation to said operating instrumentalities, means for automatically delivering pallets to and removing them from the jack, means responsive to the operation of said delivering means for rendering said first-named means active to orient the pallet and accordingly the shoe on the jack, and means responsive to the operation of said last-named means for rendering said delivering means active to remove the pallet and accordingly the shoe from the jack.

4. In a machine for use in the manufacture of shoes, operating instrumentalities, a jack adapted to receive pallets which are identical and each of which carries a right or a left shoe, each shoe irrespective of whether it is a right or a left being secured to its associated pallet with a center line of a forepart of the shoe in the same fixed relation to the pallet, and means for rotating each pallet on the jack to locate a vertical median plane of the heel seat portion of the shoe, irrespective of whether the shoe is a right or a left, in the same fixed relation to said operating instrumentalities.

5. In a machine for use in the manufacture of shoes, a jack adapted to receive pallets carrying either right or left lasts which have shoes mounted on them and each of which has a positioning plate, each of said lasts irrespective of whether it is a right or a left being secured to its pallet with a center line of the forepart of the last arranged in a constant relation to the pallet, operating instrumentalities, and means on the jack adapted to cooperate with the positioning plates of the right and left lasts in the orientation of each of the pallets and its associated last on the jack with the vertical median plane of the heel seat of the last arranged in a fixed plane of the jack irrespective of whether the last is a right or a left.

6. In a machine for operating upon shoes, a jack, means for placing right and left lasts carrying shoes on and removing them from the jack with the center lines of the foreparts of the lasts arranged in a fixed reference plane of the jack, and means for cooperating with the lasts to move said lasts on the jack between the positions in which they are received by and removed from the jack and operating positions in which vertical median planes of heel seats of the lasts, which planes are inclined to the center lines of the foreparts of the lasts, lie in the fixed reference plane of the jack.

7. In a machine for operating on the heel seats of shoes mounted on right or left lasts which have positioning plates and are individually secured to pallets each having a spindle, the center lines of the foreparts of said lasts, irrespective of whether they are rights or lefts, being arranged in a fixed relation to the pallets and intersecting vertical median planes of the heel seats of the lasts, a jack for successively receiving said pallets, and means on the jack adapted to cooperate with the positioning plates of the lasts for moving said pallets on the jack and accordingly said lasts between a receiving and delivering position in which the center lines of the foreparts of the lasts lie in a fixed reference plane of the jack and an operating position in which the vertical median planes of the heel seats of the lasts lie in said fixed reference plane.

8. In a machine which has a fixed reference plane and is adapted to operate upon shoes mounted on right or left lasts which are individually secured to identical pallets with the center lines of their foreparts arranged in a common plane or" said pallets, a jack which is centered in said fixed reference plane and is mounted for movement in a rectilinear path in said plane, means for placing the pallets on and removing them from the jack with said common plane of the pallets lying in said fixed reference plane, and means cooperating with the lasts on the pallets for orienting the pallets on the jack between operating positions in which "a vertical median plane of the heel seat of the last, to which vertical median plane the center line of the forepart of the last is inclined, shall be arranged in the reference plane of the jack, and receiving and delivering positions in which the center lines of the foreparts of the lasts are arranged in said reference plane.

9. In a machine for operating upon the heel ends of shoes mounted on right or left lasts which have positioning plates and are individually secured to pallets each having a spindle and the center lines of the foreparts of which are arranged in a fixed relation to the pallets and are inclined to the vertical median planes of the heel seats of the associated lasts, a jack for successively receiving said pallets and having a bore adapted to receive said spindle of the pallets, and means mounted on the jack and adapted to cooperate with the positioning plates of the lasts for orienting the pallets in said bore on said jack about the axes respectively of the spindles of the pallets between a receiving and delivering position in which the center lines of the foreparts of the lasts are arranged in a fixed reference plane of the jack and an operating position in which the vertical median planes of the heel seats of the lasts lie in said reference plane of the jack irrespective of whether the last is a right or a left.

10. In a machine for operating upon shoes, a jack adapted to receive a pallet having secured to it a right or left last which carries a shoe and has a positioning plate, fingers mounted for movement on the jack and adapted to cooperate with the positioning plate of the last to move said last and accordingly the pallet and the shoe between a work receiving and delivering position in which the last is arranged on the jack with a center line of its forepart coincident with a fixed reference plane of the jack and an operating position in which the last is positioned on said jack with a vertical median plane of the heel seat of the last, to which vertical median plane the center line of the forepart of the last is inclined, coincident with the reference plane of the jack, means for operating said fingers, and a transfer device for placing the pallet on the jack and for removing it from said jack.

11. In a machine for operating upon shoes, a jack for receiving from a movable transfer device a pallet having secured to it a last which carries a shoe and has a positioning plate, fingers mounted for movement on the jack and adapted to cooperate with the positioning plate of the last to move the pallet on the jack together with the last and the shoe between a work receiving and delivering position where the pallet is received from and returned to the transfer device with a center line of the forepart of the last coincident with a fixed reference plane of the machine, and an operating position in which a vertical median plane of the heel seat of the last is coincident with said reference plane of the machine, and means operative in timed relation with said transfer device for operating said fingers. I

12. In a heel attaching machine, a jack for receiving from a movable transfer device a pallet having secured to it a last which carries a shoe and has a positioning plate, mechanism mounted for movement on the jack and comprising fingers adapted to cooperate with the positioning plate of the last to move the pallet on the jack together with the last and the shoe between a work receiving and a work delivering position, Where the pallet is received from and returned to said transfer device with a center line of the forepart of the last coincident with a fixed reference plane of the jack, and an operating position in which a vertical median plane of the heel seat of the jack is coincident with said reference plane, means for moving the jack in a rectilinear path between retracted and projected positions, fluid pressure means comprising a slide operatively connected to said mechanism when the jack is in said retracted position, said mechanism being movable away from said slide as the jack moves away from its retracted position, and means adapted to cooperate with said mechanism to cause the fingers to maintain the pallet in its operating position on the jack when the jack is moved away from its retracted position.

13. In a machine for operating upon shoes, a nailing die, a heel holder an'anged adjacent to the die and adapted to position a heel, a jack for receiving from a movable transfer device a pallet having secured to it a last which carries a shoe and has a positioning plate, fingers mounted for movement on the jack and adapted to cooperate with the positioning plate of the last to move on the jack the pallet together with the last and the shoe between a work receiving and delivering position, where the pallet is received from and returned to the transfer device with the center line of the forepart of the last coincident with a fixed reference plane of the machine, and an operating position in which a vertical median plane of the heel seat of the last is coincident with said reference plane, means for moving the jack in said reference plane from a retracted position toward and away from the heel holder and the nailing die, mechanism mounted for movement on the jack and operatively connected to said fingers, fluid pressure means comprising a slide operatively connected to said mechanism when the jack is in its retracted position, said mechanism being movable away from said slide as the jack moves away from its retracted position and toward and away from said heel holder and the nailing die, and means adapted to cooperate with said mechanism to cause the fingers to maintain the pallet in its operating position on the jack as the jack moves toward and away from the heel holder and the nailing die.

14. A jack for receiving a pallet which has a face and has a spindle projecting beyond said face and which is adapted to accommodate right and left lasts each having secured to the top of its back cone a positioning plate provided with front and rear pairsof parallel faces spaced respectively equal distances from the center line of the forepart of the last and from a vertical median plane of the heel seat of the last to which plane said center line is inclined, said jack comprising a bore for receiving the spindle of the pallet, abutments having pairs of converging flat faces arranged in said bore, a pair of faces adapted to be engaged by the face of the pallet and by the posiioning plate of the last to support the pallet and the last on the jack, a pair of fingers adapted to be simultaneously engaged respectively by said front pair of faces of the positioning plate of the last presented to the jack, means for moving said fingers in one direction into engagement with the rear pair of parallel faces of the positioning plate of the last whereby to swing the last and accordingly the pallet about an axis of the spindle of the pallet to a position in which the vertical median plane of the heel seat of the last lies in a fixed reference plane of the jack, means operative in timed relation with said fingers as they move in said one direction for forcing the spindle of the pallet against said pairs of converging faces of the jack whereby to orient the spindle of the jack in a predetermined position, said first-named means being adapted to move said fingers in a direction opposite to said one di rection to cause the fingers to engage the front pair of faces of the positioning plate of the last whereby to swing the last into a position in which the center line of its forepart is arranged in said reference plane, said second-named means being adapted during the movement of the fingers in said opposite direction to release the spindle.

15. In a machine for operating upon shoes, a jack for receiving a pallet which has a spindle and to which is secured a last carrying a shoe and provided with a positioning plate, said jack having a bore for receiving the spindle of the pallet, a plurality of spaced aoutments extending into said bore and adapted to be engaged by the spindle, means cooperating with the positioning plate of the last to move the last together with the shoe and the pallet generally about an axis of the spindle of said pallet whereby to move the pallet and accordingly the last and the shoe as a unit between a receiving and delivering position, in which a center line of the forepart of the last lies in a fixed reference plane of the machine, and an operating position in which a vertical median plane of the heel seat of the last, to which plane said center line is inclined, lies in said fixed reference plane, and a thrust member connected to said means and adapted to force the spindle of the pallet against said abutments as the pallet rotates to a position in which the median vertical plane of the heel seat of the last secured to said pallet lies in said reference plane, said thrust member being adapted to be moved away from the spindle when the pallet is moved to its receiving and delivering position.

16. In a machine for operating upon shoes, a jack for receiving a pallet which has a spindle and is adapted to have secured to it right or left lasts each comprising a positioning plate and carrying a shoe, said positioning plate having front and rear pairs of faces which are spaced respectively equal distances at opposite sides of a center line of a forepart of the last and a vertical median plane of the heel seat of the last, said jack comprising a cylindrical bore for receiving a spindle of said pallet and having a fixed reference plane, a plurality of angularly disposed abutments arranged in one side of said bore and adapted to he engaged by the spindle, faces which extend and are olfset transversely of the bore and which are spaced lengthwise of said bore and are adapted to be engaged respectively by faces of the pallet and the positioning plate of the last, fingers movable to receiving and delivering positions Where they are adapted to be engaged by the front faces of the positioning plate of the last delivered to the jack whereby to insure that the center line of the forepart of the last at the receiving and delivering position shall be coincident with the reference plane of the last, said fingers also being movable to operating positions into engagement with the rear pair of faces of the positioning plate whereby to cause the last and accordingly the pallet to be swung about an axis of the spindle of the pallet to positions in which the vertical median plane of the heel seat of the last shall be coincident with the reference plane of the jack, means for operating said fingers, and means operative in timed relation with said fingers for forcing the spindle of the pallet against said abutments whereby to locate said spindle in a predetermined position in the bore of the jack.

17. In a machine for operating upon a shoe mounted on a last which is secured to a pallet provided with a spindle and which has a positioning plate including front and rear pairs of parallel faces spaced equidistant respectively from a center line of the forepart of the last and from a vertical median plane of the heel seat of said last, said center line of the forepart of the last being inclined to said plane, a jack, which has a fixed reference plane and a bore adapted to receive the spindle of the pallet with an axis of the spindle lying substantially in said fixed reference plane and which has a pair of supporting faces adapted to be engaged respectively by the pallet and by the positioning plate of the last when the spindle of the pallet is in said bore, a pair of fingers which are mounted for movement On the jack and are adapted to be moved between a Work 16 receiving and delivering position, in which they are engaged by the front pairs of faces of the positioning plate to cause the center line of the forepart of the last to be swung about the axis of the spindle to a position in which it lies in said reference plane of the jack, and a work orienting position in which they engage the rear pair of faces of the positioning plate to cause the vertical median plane of the heel seat of the last to be swung about the axis of the spindle to a position in which it lies in said reference plane, abutments arranged in said bore, and means operative in timed relation with the ringers for forcing the spindle against the abutments at the time that the fingers are in engagement with the rear pair of faces of the plate of the jack and for allowing the spindle to be moved freely into the bore when the fingers are in engagement with the front pair of faces of the positioning plate of the jack.

18. In a machine for use in the manufacture of shoes, operating instrumentalities, a jack adapted to receive pallets which are identical and carry either right or left shoes, each shoe being secured to its associated pallet with a center line of a forepart of the shoe in a fixed relation to the pallet, and mechanism for orienting each pallet on the jack to locate a vertical median plane of the heel seat of the shoe, irrespective of whether it is a right or a left, in a predetermined relation to said operating instramentalities, said mechanism comprising a flexible lever which is deformed during orientation of said pallet and provides spring biasing means for insuring that the pallet is securely held in its oriented position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,904,788 Lee et a1. Sept. 22, 1959 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,048,862 August 14, 1962 Adolph S. Dorosz et a1.

ears in the above numbered pat- It is hereby certified that error app Patent should read as ent requiring correction and that the said Letters corrected below.

"bads read bars line ws 144 to the s 150 in Column 7, line 37, for for "bars 142 which are secured by scre Y 8 which pass through slot.

1at" read screws 14 the plate Signed and sealed this 26th day of March 1963.

(SEAL) Attest:

ESTON G. JOHNSON DAVID L. LADD Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents 

